Silver 2.x belongs to SCADA-systems class according to its characteristics. One of the leading features of SCADA-systems is an opportunity of developing data collection systems and control systems in the visual designing mode allowing to avoid laborious programming on each stage of an application system development.

Silver 2.x represents an integrated instrumental system providing a full cycle of creating distributed systems of data collection and control in the visual designing mode allowing to avoid laborious programming on each stage of an application system development – beginning from informational channels description and finishing with graphs and reporting forms creating.

Consistent realization of SoftPLC conception in Silver 2.x based on open architectural decisions adds to management-information systems being developed extra functionality and flexibility.

Technological programming language of a IEC 1131-3 standard usage allows facilitate a task of management systems creation to the maximum for people which don’t deal with programming professionally (like technologists, system integrators).

A story of a Silver package development and application by RTS-Ukraine company has been dating more than 8 years. Geography of application stretches from the western board of Ukraine to the east of Russia.

The first version Silver 0.1 was created for internal use of the company RTS-Ukraine only for the purpose of automation systems development for different objects and it wasn’t positioned as a commercial one.

Silver developed actively as well as QNX: with QNX (version 6.0) release a new package Silver 2 appeared which was absolutely new and improved with a help of new technologies. At the same time the system integration department of the company used this package actively for control systems implementation on the different enterprises and different branches of industry beginning from food and metallurgical industries and finishing with space industry. There are systems where the quantity of physical links 'input/output' being processed by a decentralized system on QNX\Silver base reaches around 1000 and the quantity of symbolic circuits numbers 100.

Silver package includes a development environment and an implementation environment. The development environment represents an aggregate of mutually bound configurators allowing to create a complete project in virtual programming mode.

The implementation environment includes all necessary device drivers and different services supposed for collection, keeping and reflection of data, control and diagnostics. The implementation environment Silver represents a distributed system of data collection and the processes of the system may appear on different computers under RTOS QNX control being united into a single net.

The central notion is a notion of a variable. A variable (or a tag) Silver is an object applying an access interface. Each Silver tag may be connected with a data source. As a data source any volunteer process may act. Usually a data source for a tag is a device driver. The tags may have processes which can be implemented on different machines united in a net as data sources.

Nevertheless all the tags described in this project are reflected on the single variable field thus the problems of the access to these data of users applications are minimal. Thus any process (symbolic circuits reflection, keeping in database, control) made by any machine in the net always may acquire a clear access to variable value.

HMI (a human-machine interface) turns a technological controller into a full-functioning operator`s workplace giving a possibility of a categorical access to information in the form of animated multimedia symbolic circuits, trends, tables. Also there is a possibility to form voice-message reports.

Keeping information in the database allows to record the data acquired to any database being maintained. For rapidly changing parameters a specialized highly optimized database has been created.

The server of constants  allows to set significance in the form of constants (being kept between the system working periods) and implement a restriction to access for them for the technical personnel being responsible for the operation with the system).

Fulfilment of the functions written in C\C++  a possibility of the fulfilment of different functions using C\C++ exists, which gives an opportunity to use many possibilities of the operational system directly.

Drivers emulations  any process being a source of data for Silver tags may be launched in emulation regime on the stage of the system debugging. This enables to trace the system behaviour in different situations.